Netanyahu: Palestinians Hedging

Agreement Was Near On A Troop Pullout, Israeli Leader Asserts

TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the Palestinians had pulled back from the brink of an agreement on a long-delayed Israeli withdrawal from more of the West Bank.

"We were very close, very close to an agreement on the negotiations with the Palestinians a few days ago," Netanyahu said at a conference on Middle East affairs. "There has been a retreat on the Palestinian side, and I think it's important that the Palestinians come back to the table and restore and move on understandings that were achieved in the negotiations."

Palestinian officials have not reported any recent progress. Though negotiators have not met formally for weeks, a senior Palestinian official on Tuesday confirmed earlier reports that secret talks had been held between the sides to find agreement over the scope of a withdrawal.

The basis for the negotiations is a U.S. proposal that Israel withdraw from 13 percent of the West Bank. The Palestinians have agreed to the plan; Israel initially said handing over 13 percent would endanger its security.

Israel then countered with a proposal to turn 3 percent of that land into a nature reserve, which would limit Palestinian control in the area.

The Palestinians have not objected to land-use restrictions in principle.

Netanyahu did not disclose what had been agreed upon but said he had taken personal political risks to work out a deal that members of his own party oppose.

Speaking to reporters Monday in Amman, Jordan, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat derided the Israeli proposals while acknowledging that there had been "some progress" in negotiations after months of stalemate.

His chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, denied that the Palestinians had backtracked.

"It's a show game, nothing but a show game. What he's offering now in his show game is 13 minus 3 (percent)," Erekat said when asked about Netanyahu's comments.

"All he has to do today is to say `yes' to the American initiative because the Palestinian `yes' stands firm. And we don't want show games," he said.